aloft
by Futuros
Summary: Becoming a Pokémon Master was no easy task, but Ash had never been one to run from a challenge. "Nice pet you have there, kid" / "That's been your dream since forever, right? To be a pokemon master?" / "PIKACHU!" / "Thank you, Ash" / "I just find it cool, you know?" / "Gyarados, Hyperbeam!" / "You talk too much".
1. Chapter 1

"Pikapi!"

The shout of the pokemon interrupted the silence of the night. Beside the little rodent lay the sleeping form of a black haired teenager. Two distinctive marks adorned his cheeks. This teenager was no other than Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town. Pokemon trainer, contest participant, friend of pokemon and human alike, hero.

"Pikapi!"

The small rodent was his long time friend: Pikachu. Pikachu was a small pokemon, number twenty five according the now obsolete Kanto Pokedex. Pokemon research was still a growing field, countless scientists and researchers compiling and updating the ever-expanding body of knowledge pertaining these creatures. One of the foremost experts on this field was Professor Oak, the scientist who gave Ash this Pikachu on the start of his journey, when he was ten years old.

"Chuu!"

Thunderbolt. A midclass electric move, which shocks the objective with up to ten thousand volts of electicity. The particular receiver of this attack, the aforementioned Ash Ketchum, was considered by some to have developed something of an inmunity to electric shocks such as these, given the fact that he had been hit uncountable times by his best friend. Of course, that didnt't completely negate its effect, or the fact that electricity tended to hurt.

"Ouch! Ouch! Pikachu! What's going on!"

"Pika!"

As much as he appreciated his long time pal, Ketchum was never a fan of being hit with electricity. Even less so in the middle of the night. This was fast shaping up to be one of _those days_. Shaking off the remnants of the attack, he looked around him to see what had gotten his partner's knickers in a twist.

And promptly saw that the trees surrounding the area where he and his pokemon had camped were on fire.

He could also hear screams from various pokemon, clearly distressed at having their habitat destroyed.

So that's why Pikachu was so insistent. He definitely must have been tired if all that ruckus hadn't shook him. Pikachu hadn't interrupted the silence of the night, far from it.

Rapidly getting to his feet, he ran through his options. Putting out the fire was essential, he could worry about the pokemon later. He was about to call out one of his own pokemon, when another shout of "Pikapi!" and his pikachu tackling him threw him to the ground.

From where he could see a concentrated ray of light pass through where his head had been moments before, and then hitting another tree, causing a huge explosion and disintegrating most of the plant.

A hyperbeam.

Ash got up to his feet again, and with Pikachu at his side, tried to see what had been the cause of the attack, but to no avail. Smoke covered most of the small clearing; shadows danced, and only the sound of burning embers remained.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a sunny day in Cerulean. No clouds overhead, the sky a clear light blue shade, and sunrays falling acutely upon the city. A small breeze brought with it sensations of the sea, and memories of summer days.

Misty Waters looked outside, standing in one of the balconies on the second floor of her gym. The peace she had come to associate with Cerulean greeted her back, and she wondered about the nostalgic feeling she had. There was no reason to be sad, was there? The remodelating of the gym she had dreamed about ever since she was a little girl had been a complete success, with compliments coming from all over Kanto; she had even received a little note from Lorelei, with congratulations on the reputation her gym was earning. She had almost fainted then and there. Of course, the comments from her sisters were a thing of the past, who now had shifted their attittude toward pokemon competitions. They were still focused on the entertainment world, of course, but had come to respect her and her abilities. She hadn't known it was possible to feel that happy.

Her growing fame had also meant that the level of the trainers coming to challenge her had risen exponentially as well. Now trainers from all over Sinnoh, Johto and Hoenn had come to visit one of the rumored toughest water gyms. Also, and this warmed her heart, she had been visited by many little girls from Cerulean, claiming she was their hero and that they wanted to be just like Misty when they grew up. More than anything else, this had dazed her, and made her feel the weight and responsibility she now carried.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a ringing sound, her Holo Caster informing about an incoming call awaiting her. She answered.

"Yeah?"

"Misty?" A familiar face was projected in the air. Brown spiky hair, a tanned complexion, and indecipherable eyes. She'd always recognize him.

"Brock! I can't believe it, is that you?!"

A smile. "So it appears."

She smiled as well. "It's been far too long. How are you? How's the gym, your brothers?"

"They are great Misty, thanks for asking. How about you?"

She turned around, giving Brock a view of the trees and buldings of the city in the background. "I'd say I'm doing just fine."

"You can say that again," Brock laughed. "But, as good as seeing you is, I actually called for another, far less pleasant reason."

Misty straightened. "I'm all ears."

"...You haven't had news from Ash lately, have you?"

Her pulse quickened. "What? No, not at all. What happened?"

"...He... he was attacked."

"What!"

"Yeah."

"Tell me where he is, I'll be there in a couple hours at most," she said, starting to walk quickly and pulling out a pokeball. "I'll ask Sabrina about teleportation if I can't reach wherever he is by flight."

"Misty."

"Is he in a hospital? I should be able to see him with my Leader ID."

"Misty..."

"You need to tell me now Brock, time is..."

"Misty!"

She stopped.

"Misty, calm down. Ash is fine. Nothing happened to him. But he told me that the sector of the forest he was in was completely incinerated."

"...Are you telling me what I think you're telling me?" she managed, voice trembling.

"We don't have any details yet. But he told me that if not for Pikachu, he'd have first hand experience about what being hit by a Hyperbeam feels like."

"..."

"..."

"...That's it. I'm going. Where is he now?"

"He was near Silver, in Johto."

"He still there?"

"He's in the PokeCenter of Silver Town right now."

"Tell him to wait for me, and don't you even think about stop..."

"What are you talking about?"

Misty blinked.

"I've already made the neccessary arrangements." Brock smirked. "I'm going as well. You think I'd be out of this?"

She smiled. "You're right. I guess not."


	3. Chapter 3

Multiple screens flashed to light.

Several steps could be heard, going up a staircase.

Muffled whispers traveling through the air.

A sharp bark of laughter.

Then, silence.


	4. Chapter 4

It was a typical day for Joy, from Silver Town. Midday was nearing, and the flux of travelers had been rather weak. Most of their pokemon had only needed cursory checks, but there had been a couple with more serious injuries, mostly because of carelessness from their trainers. Sometimes it was difficult to maintain professional composure when faced with negligent kids who wondered why their fire pokemon were in a slump after travelling miles under heavy rain. Clearly, the education regarding the care of pokemon was in dire need of improvement, if only just to avert completely avoidable blunders. But anyways, she oughn't be so pesimistic. Things could definitely be much worse, all things considered.

Shaking off that sunny train of thought, she found herself looking around the center. It was almost completely empty, with only a couple of trainers having lunch quietly, some of their pokemon eating alongside them. In the middle of the room, a black haired tan young man sat, talking animately with his pikachu. He wore a sunkissed faded orange hat, and a white t-shirt with a bold blue strip across the chest. Even if he hadn't introduced himself when he had left his pokemon under her care, it would be near impossible to mistake him: the pikachu at his side screamed that this teenager was none other than Ash Ketchum. Many stories surrounded the guy, being passed around in the Joy family gatherings that held place sometimes, or in phone calls between the pokemon centers. Legend had it that the first time he had stepped foot in one, in a particularly vicious lightstorm, the center had been damaged beyond recognition after an incident with some Rockets. Of course, this had been after he had singlehandedly saved the pokemon in the center from being poached, after a fight with said functionaries. On what was apparently the first day of his journey. Yeah, Ash Ketchum had a reputation preceding him.

But on looking at him, no hints of his exploits were present - she recalled hearing about some stunt involving the Prism Tower in Lumiose and an angry Garchomp. What was observable instead was a boy interacting and playing around with his pikachu, the strenght of their bond palpable even from a distance. He seemed to be just a normal kid travelling around. But she knew there was indeed more to him than what appearances suggested.

Her musings were interrupted by the opening doors of the center and the arrival of two trainers, a man and girl. The girl had a strange hair color, a very clear yellow with red tones that made it look almost orange, with striking blue eyes, and who wore a white tank top with blue shorts and red and white shoes with a light blue strip on front. The man was tall, tan, and brown haired. He wore light khaki cargo pants, a loose fitting orange t-shirt, and a black and green sleeveless jacket over. He also wore white and dark blue sneakers, and his eyes appeared to be closed. That gave him away as the Pewter gym leader, Brock, which meant that the girl was Misty, from Cerulean.

Before Joy could think anything else, Misty had stampeded towards the table where Ash sat, who was looking pretty bewildered, and had started shouting at him, while Brock looked on, managing to look both nostalgic and sheepish at the same time. A quaint combination, no doubt.

Ash had risen from his seat, Pikachu on his shoulder, and was moving his hands in front of Misty in a placating manner, when she suddenly hugged him, trapping his hands under, and causing him to sport a surprised expression. Then he softened, and hugged her back, talking softly. Then they separated, and Brock came forward, giving him a firm handshake and a hug as well. They talked animatedly and Ash invited them to have a seat, which they both did. Pikachu then hopped from his trainers shoulder into Misty's head, prompting laughter from all of them and a smile from Joy as well.

* * *

"I still can't believe you didn't call us as soon as you got out of that forest." said Misty, looking at Ash with her arms crossed.

"It didn't cross my mind, okay? I was worried about other stuff." the black haired teen defended himself.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah! There was a little Tangela hurt and I had to carry her to the pokemon center."

"While I understand your position, Ash, Misty has a right to be worried." Brock stated. "You travelling alone makes things different than when you were in a group, you know."

"I know that, but I couldn't ask any of you guys to come. You've been busy with your own stuff, and I didn't want to be a bother."

"Why is it that you're travelling alone again?" asked Misty, curiously. "Not that I have anything against it, but it just seems so weird knowing you."

Ash shot her a look, then shrugged. "Well, last year I got contacted by Lance, of the Elite Four. You guys remember him? Spiky red hair, long cape and a couple dragons?"

Both Misty and Brock snorted. "He's not exactly forgettable."

"Well, the thing is he told me that he was issuing me an invitation to challenge the Elite Four. I didn't know exactly what to say, so I told him sure, and that I'd train for a while and then visit them. He seemed to accept that. It was weird though... I thought that only pokemon league winners could challenge them?"

Misty and Brock looked at each other. "Well... I'm no expert, but I'd wager that sometimes they might give these kind of opportunities to trainers who show special promise, or that have distinguished themselves somehow. Maybe they invite trainers that they want to face, for some reason."

"But I don't get it. Wouldn't they inviting more challengers mean that they might lose more easily?"

"Ash... I don't know how much you know about the Elite Four, but... they are widely considered to be the best of the best. They are head and shoulders above Gym Leaders. It's another level. That's why there's a hall of fame for champions who manage to beat them. I think the longest undefeated streak they all have is a decade."

"What?!"

"Yeah, for ten years no trainer was able to beat none of them. They're not called 'Elite' for nothing you know."

"But... but... then why me? I can't be that good!"

"As I said, they have their own reasons. You might not be expected to win, or perhaps yes, but they do seem to want to test you."

"Wow..."

"It seems our little Ashy is getting known!" Misty giggled.

"Very funny."

"Oh come on, Ash, loosen up. This is great news. Whatever the result, this will be invaluable experience for you."

"I guess you're right. Well," Ash said, standing up. "then there's no more time to waste. We gotta keep on training!"

Misty raised an eyebrow. "You in that much of a hurry to be in the middle of a forest fire again?"

"Oh come on Misty! That was probably an accident!"

"Be that as it may," Brock interjected. "Misty is right. She and I actually came here for a reason."

"Ah?"

Brock looked at Misty, who nodded. "We have decided to travel with you again, for the time being."

"I... eh... what?!"

Misty giggled. "What, you don't want us now?"

"No, no! Never! But this is... aren't you guys busy?"

"We are busy, thank you very much. It's just that we felt it was the thing to do, given the circumstances."

"I... I don't know what to say. Just... thanks."

"That's what friends are for, right?" Misty smiled.

Ash smiled as well. "Yeah."


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a long day, no doubt.

The sun shone brightly in the sky, cloudless and clear, a summer breeze travelling the whole place in a second, unkwnown its destination. Dawn's hair longed to go and play with the wind, as evidenced by the enthusiasm with which it danced along with its caress, but the bluenette paid no mind to the occurence. Her attention was focused on the interior of the bulding she was entering at that moment.

Kanto had been _fantastic_ , full of new places, new people, and new pokemon. The region had a sort of homely feel to it that made it easy to understand why it was considered one of the most important regions. Its cities didn't have the romantic appeal of, say, Kalos, but they had that charm about them nonetheless.

The Saffron International Airport was one of the busiest in the whole region, and it boasted an impressive structure with two terminals, market places full of different shops and a constant influx of travellers that kept the building alive at all times. Watching so many people could be a little disorienting if one was not used to it, but for Dawn it was nothing short of thrilling being in such a place, full of energy and possibilities.

She wandered for a bit, taking in the ambience and observing the many screens indicating the times of departure and arrival. So many lives interwined in such a comparatively small space, so many stories and so many places to go. Kanto had been kind to her, and she was grateful, but now it was time to go back to Johto for a bit and relax. She had been working hard lately, and she wanted to take a breather to refresh and recharge.

Getting some tea from one of the stores, she decided to have a seat and watch people going about their businesses for a while. It was entertaining, and beat looking at her PokeNav. She was sure she'd have erased the letters akready if it had had a physical keyboard.

There were many people, mostly on their own or in pairs, some with carts full of luggage, and some with only a small backpack, identifying them as trainers. Nonetheless, it was a small group of children that caught her attention. Two kids were engaged in a very lively discussion, as kids were wont to do, with some other boys and girls looking at the spectacle. One of the kids had a small voltorb on their shoulder, but she was drawn to the other pokemon. A small pikachu perched on the shoulder of a dark haired kid, with electricity fizzling on its cheeks.

She smiled. She couldn't help but be reminded of a similar dark haired boy who also had a pikachu as a partner. Ash had been with her from the beginning of her journey, and it had been an awfully long time since she had known anything about the whereabouts of her friend. She considered for a moment before opening her contact list and looking for a particular number. She called.

* * *

"Could you pass the salt, please?" asked Misty, her gaze directed at her companions.

"Here you go." aswered Brock, passing around the small utensil.

"Thank you." she answered, seasoning her plate.

The group was stationed in a small clearing, a wooden table with a white spread on top shared among them. After catching up with each other in the pokemon center they'd decided to head out and start planning their next move, so they'd found this small place and started getting everything ready. Lunch was always something of a tradition among them, and Misty and Ash helped out with what they could while Brock concentrated on the making of the dishes.

"So, Ash," Misty started. "You said you've been training, right?"

"Yeah," he answered. "I thought there was no way I could give a challenge to the Elite Four guys if I just went there unprepared, so I've been working with the the team."

"What have you been doing?" asked Brock, interested.

"Mostly battle strategies. I read up a little bit on the Elite Four, and they are known for their element specialties. And as far as I know, you're not allowed to rotate members when challenging them, so your team really needs to be balanced. That's why I've been training with different pokes, cuz' I'm not sure who the final team will be."

Misty stared at Ash, consideringly. "That's... surprsingly well thought out."

Ash shrugged. "Thanks, Mist. I just figured I'd give it my all, is all."

Brock looked at Ash as well, his face with a similar pensive expression. "You don't sound too enthusiastic about it."

"I am!" Ash protested. "I just can't afford to half-ass this, you know? We've been working hard, but I've worked hard before and still came up short, so..."

"Oh puh-lease," Misty drawled. "Don't tell me the great Ash Ketchum is coming up with excuses before even fighting. I didn't even know you had it in you. What are you, some kind of loser?"

Ash frowned, giving Misty a hard glare, and she stood her ground, unblinking.

"...You made your point." he conceded. Misty blinked.

Brock blinked as well.

Silence enveloped the group for a few seconds, before it was broken by a sound coming from Brock's Holo Caster.

"Yeah?" he answered, interested glances from both Misty and Ash. "Oh, hey Dawn, how you've been? Yeah, it's been a long time," he chuckled. "Yeah, sure. Actually... You wouldn't believe it, but I'm with him right now. Yeah, for real," he smiled. "You can talk to him if you want. Sure." He then passed the Holo Caster to Ash, who promptly put it next to his ear. "Dawn? Hey, how are you, it's been so long!" he laughed. "Yeah, well, you know me, can't really stay in one place. Yeah, I'm great, how about you? Awesome." He then appeared to be concentrating for a little bit. "Yeah, I'm with Misty and Brock. I've been training. What?... Haha, yeah, that's her. We're near Silver, in Johto. Wha...? Really? Oh, great. Yeah, for sure. It'll be awesome." He smiled. "Ok then, see you!"

Brock took the Holo Caster back from Ash, with a nod. "So, what did she say?"

"She's in Saffron's airport. And, wouldn't you know it," he looked at Brock. "She's coming to Johto."

* * *

Dawn turned her PokeNav around in her hands, contemplative. That had been a big coincidence, but then again... She smiled. It looked like life was getting interesting once again.

She accessed her contacts one more time. Another number. Dial.

Tone.

"Hey, what's up, May?"


	6. Chapter 6

Still.

The seconds morphed, flowing and mixing in a neverending river, sliding through the invisible ether.

Inside this corner, the world dissolved into a primal state of concentration, potential energy.

Momentum.

A coil ready to spring.

Edge.

A rustle.

"Honored brother."

The nnja opened his eyes.

"A challenger has arrived."

Koga stood up, movements precise and sharp. He turned around.

"Let us meet him, then."

* * *

Fuchsia's, in many senses, could not be considered an ordinary gym. As a rule, gyms were located near the town's squares, or at least near downtown; bigger or smaller centers of activity, possesing of a certain political weight trascending the sport that pokemon battles represented. Gym leaders were known by every and each inhabitant of every city, and depending on the leader, had more or less sway on the decisions made by the municipalties. Of course, not everyone saw such potential authority positively, but the consensus appeared to be "live and let live", so peace was still largely maintained. The fact that pokemon generally only obeyed the orders of their trainers had challenged the ambitions of more than one upstart, and that was not even getting into legendaries, of course, some of whom had the potential to rewrite realities.

In contrast to most, Fuchsia's gym was located outside the city. An imponent, though mostly unadorned mansion that hid inside it a variety of poison pokemon, led by Koga, a renowned ninja. Kanto's League was the oldest, ergo, the most repected, and the Fuchsia gym was one of the earliest to be built. The grounds of the place had seen uncountable battles; the air shifted in anticipation of another one.

The door connecting the battlefield opened, and Koga, followed by Jasmine, walked out. The challenger, who appeared to be a teenager, stood patiently, waiting for them. He was a pale boy, dressed in all black and with a hoodie covering his face. Both he and Koga looked at each other for a second, sizing each other up.

"My name is Koga, leader of the Fuchsia gym. I understand you have come to battle for the Soul Badge."

"That is correct." the teen answered.

"We will battle, then. What is your name?"

"The name is E." The boy then reached for his belt, and retrieved a single pokeball, enlarging it. "A pleasure. Shall we?"

Koga smirked.

* * *

On one side of the rocky, mostly bare empty space that served as battlefield stood Koga, his arms crossed and his posture firm. On the other side stood the challenger.

"This will be an official battle for the Soul Badge, a two on two match with no subtitutions. Challenger, please choose your first pokemon."

E's pokeball left his hand after being thrown, rising in a high arc before opening. The piece of technology materialized a large, vaguely humanoid shape, primarly colored red and with the distinctive feature of having what could best would be described as cannons as hands.

"Let's do this, Magmortar!"

"A Magmortar, huh? Well, let's see what you can do. Go forth, Venomoth!" called the gym leader, as a large insect-like creature with big, almost glowing eyes appeared in his side of the battlefield.

A shout of "Begin!" was then heard.

E took the initiative, ordering Marmortar to open fire with embers. It was not to be, though, as Venomoth avoided them with nary an indication from his trainer. It retaliated with Gust, dissipating the remaining embers and causing annoyance to the cannon-like pokemon. E then ordered to try and punching the bug out, but it simply flew out of the way, undisturbed.

"Venomoth, use stun spore."

"Don't let them reach you! Fire spin!"

The flames travelled through the air and connected with the spores, causing an explosion that shook the ground and covered the area in smoke. When it dissipated, both pokemon could be seen standing, looking a little worse for wear.

"Now, before it flies away! Fire spin!"

"Confusion."

The confusion affected Magmortar just in time, making it miss by a wide margin and start clutching his head.

"Now, Venomoth. Psybeam."

The psychic attack hit true, unimpeded, and caused Magmortar to continue clutching his head, his distress apparent. When he fell to one knee, E had had enough.

"SNAP OUT OF IT! Flamethrower!"

Magmortar opened his eyes, the voice of his trainer returning him to his senses. He then lifted his right arm, and after a couple of second, a fierce jet stream of fire flew directly to Venomoth, the temperature becoming unbearably hot for the spectators in an instant, the air distorting with the heat. Too late, E realized that the power behind the attack was more than he had expected, and could only watch as the stream continued its collision course..

..only to find air instead and hit the wall of the gym, dissipating after leaving a blackened mark 7 feet tall. The beam from Koga's pokeball dissipated, and he lowered his arm, his face unreadable. E, for his part, had widened his eyes at the display, appearing conflicted. Koga chose to save this piece of information for later analysis, and to continue the battle.

"It appears that one of my pokemon has been defeated. Shall we continue?"

E held his gaze for a few seconds, before schooling his features once again. "..yes."

The pokeball flew. "Wake up, Hypno!"

The yellow pokemon materialized, blinking a couple of times before adopting a battle stance, his pendulum at the ready. Magmortar shifted his stance, cautious.

"Begin"

"Hypno, confusion." called the gym leader. E made to call for Magmortar to defend himself, but to no avail; the attack had already connected, and Magmortar had started clutching his head again.

"Magmortar!"

It appeared that the attack would knock Magmortar out, and E thought about recalling the pokemon, but after some seconds a pissed looking Magmortar opened his eyes, and let out a deafening roar, breaking Hypno's concentration and cancelling the attack. E capitalized on the opportunity.

"Ember!"

"Avoid it, Hypno. Poison gas."

After the embers passed harmlessly, Hypno let out a thick cloud of poisonous smoke, obscuring the view of the battlefield. E clinched his fist, annoyed.

"Don't breathe, Magmortar. Try to find out where he is."

Koga's voice cut in. "That won't be neccesary. Psychic."

A slight blue outline could be seen in the midst of the smoke, showing Hypno, who was controlling Magmortar, levitating it a couple feet off the ground. As the smoke cleared, Magmortar could be seen with his left arm raised, a bright sphere floating from the cannon. E's eyes widened.

"Magmortar, s-!"

With another bloodcurdling scream, Magmortar let out the fire blast, hitting Hypno and causing a huge explosion. When the smoke dissipated, the unconscious form of the pokemon could be seen on the ground, and a dissipating barrier above him. The pokemon remained there for a couple of seconds before being dematerialized by Koga's pokeball. He then nodded to Jasmine.

"Hypno is unable to battle. The winner is E!"

With a frown, the gym leader called her daughter, who promptly reached his side, and gave her the two pokeballs, with instructions to go to the pokemon center urgently. Jasmine nodded, and was off. Koga then walked to where E was, who had recalled Magmortar and was looking at him with a guarded expression. Wordlessly, Koga gave him the Soul Badge, to which E nodded. Koga made a gesture to say something, but thought better of it, as E had turned and started walking away.

He exited, closing the door behind him.


End file.
